The Business of Love
by ZaraLavine
Summary: When her big-business father suggests she date the young aristocrat, Roderich Edelstein, Elizaveta is opposed to the idea. Slowly, she begins to change her mind. And what about this rogue freelance photographer that won't leave her alone? PruxHunxAus
1. Chapter 1

A/N - Another story, awaayyy!

Full Description:

Elizaveta was strong, and she didn't need a man in her life to make it complete. When her father suggests that she date the son of a big businessman, Roderich Edelstein, she's opposed to it. But as she grows closer to the young aristocrat, her mind slowly changes about him. But what about this roguish free-lance photographer that seems to want to make her life miserable? Her growing attraction to him doesn't make sense, yet she can't seem to get away from the man. [PruxHunxAus]

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><p>"He sounds like a tightwad."<p>

She didn't like this one bit. Her freedom and independence were one of the most important things to her. She prided herself on being a strong, capable woman, not needing a man to make her feel better about herself.

Now, her father was trying to set her up. He was 'selling' her to the son of a neighboring corporation, Roderich Edelstein, from the Edelstein Corp. Their being together would 'bring the companies closer, creating a more profitable relationship between the two businesses'.

"You haven't met him yet, Lizzie." Her father said with a sigh, "Give it a chance."

"Why should I? He's probably a wuss." Elizaveta retorted, turning away from her father with a 'huff'.

No, she didn't like this freedom of choice being taken away from her. She wanted to be with someone for love, not for business relations. It seemed, though, that she didn't have much of a decision in the matter.

"Lizzie," Her father said her name in _that_ way, the way that always made her give in. "Please."

"Fine!" She spat, looking over her shoulder at him. "But I hope you know that I'm doing this for _you_. And if I don't like the guy after meeting him, then I'm not staying with him."

"Five dates." Her father said, business mode activated.

"Two!"

"_Three_, and that's final."

"_Fine!" _She walked off, grabbing her purse off of the kitchen table before leaving the house to blow off some steam.

"Hello, Ms. Hedervary, would you like me to pull up the car?" One of her family's servants greeted her at the door, but she shook her head at the aging employee.

She fished inside her purse and pulled out her sunglasses and the keys to her favorite car. "No thanks, Ralph. I'll be driving myself today."

"Yes, Ms. Hedervary." Ralph didn't hide the obvious displeasure on his face about her driving by herself, but Elizaveta could have cared less.

Her baby was the one thing her father couldn't take away from her.

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><p>The 1999 Ford Taurus painted in a homely Hunter's Green, stood out in a sea of Mustangs, Corvettes, and Porsches. It was old, it was rusting, but it was hers. And she had worked all summer long so she could afford it herself.<p>

She crawled into the front seat, casting her purse haphazardly into the seat next to her as she started up the engine. It sputtered for a moment before roaring to life, humming lowly as she shifted it into drive to pull it out of their garage. She rolled the window down, put the radio on, and waved goodbye to Ralph as she left her monstrous home behind.

The moment she had walked out the door, her destination was clear in her mind. On the outskirts of town, about an hour's drive away, was a small, remote diner that attracted the locals. It was owned by a franchise, going by the typical name of "Pa's Family Restaurant". The food wasn't impressive, everything she ordered came coated with a layer of grease, and the service wasn't great either. It was all middle-aged waitresses who woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, every morning. But that was the best part; no one cared who she was, where she was from, and only bothered her when asking to refill her coffee.

It was one of the few safe havens she had left in this world.

The waitresses began recognizing her after her fifth visit. They never made much conversation, other than a 'how are you' or a small nod of the head, and she preferred it that way. Usually when she came here, she was steaming about something, and needed to get away from the world for awhile.

"How may I help ya," A gruff waitress approached her table, "Any coffee to start ya out?"

"Yes, please." She flipped her non-expensive, easily-replaced white coffee cup so the waitress could pour the hot liquid in.

"Anything else?" The waitress asked, dumping a few crèmes on the table.

Elizaveta shook her head, giving the waitress a small smile. "I'll let you know."

What she really needed right now was some time to think. This business deal her father had suddenly thrown onto her shoulders needed some time to sink in.

She took a sip of the scalding coffee, not surprised when it burned the roof of her mouth. It was familiar to her; as familiar as the waitress who took her order, or the floral wallpaper that was beginning to peel in some areas, or the squishy booths that she sat in that made her butt sweat.

No matter what changed in her life, she was sure that these things would be constant. Familiar.

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><p>AN - This story was floating around in my head for the past couple of days. :) It'll get more interesting, but for now I'm providing Elizaveta's background.

Reviews make me work faster~

-StormySea


	2. Chapter 2

"Yo, West! Long time, no see, bruder!" A young albino male laughed obnoxiously, patting the shoulder of a stoic blonde man.

The blue-eyed man, Ludwig, sighed, massaging the temples on his forehead to relieve the growing headache. "You live in my basement, Gilbert. I saw you this morning."

Gilbert laughed, the obnoxious noise sounding out of place amidst the quiet office. "I know it's so hard for you to be separated from my awesome, so isn't it great that we get to work together for the next couple of weeks?"

"Ja," Ludwig sighed, "Just great." Focusing on his paperwork seemed to be out of the question with his brother here. "Aren't you supposed to be seeing the Director or something?"

"Oh!" Gilbert's eyes widened, "Ja! You're right. I've got a meeting with him," He checked his watch, "Five minutes ago." The laugh that followed was way too careless for Ludwig's taste. "Oh well, I guess I'll go grace him with my awesome." He swaggered his way out of Ludwig's cubicle (finally), but not before grabbing his female co-worker's butt on the way out.

"Who _was_ that?" The violated female marveled, staring after his figure as he sauntered into the boss's office.

Ludwig sighed, much louder this time. "I don't know." He lied, determined to focus on his work rather than play twenty questions with his work mate about his rogue brother.

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><p>"Gilbert Beilschmidt?" The boss-man asked, making Gilbert smirk. Such an awesome name for an awesome person.<p>

"Yo," Gilbert saluted, grinning widely as he sat himself down on the chair across from his future employer. "That's me."

"I see..." His voice trailed off, glancing down at his papers and back up at the albino man more than once. "You're certainly not what was I expecting, Mr. Beilschmidt."

"You can call me Mr. _Awesome_, if you prefer."

"I'll stick with Mr. Beilschmidt, thank you." The man cleared his throat, shuffling his papers before he began speaking again. "You have an impressive portfolio, and the references you listed spoke nothing but raving reviews for your work."

Gilbert smirked, arrogance dripping off of him. "Of course, I am awesome, after all."

"Yes..." The man trailed off, "But, well..." He seemed flustered, and Gilbert could understand why. It wasn't every day that you had the privilege of having such an awesome person in your presence; it was only natural to be flustered.

He sighed, oddly reminding Gilbert of his brother for a split second. "My boss, Mr. Hedervary, seemed quite taken with your work. If you're interested, we'd love for you to help us with our advertisement team's latest venture. We need a skilled photographer to truly capture the essence of this company, and, well," He scanned the papers in his hand once again before setting them down, "You seem to fit the job."

"Of course. My awesome self won't let you down! Now, about the pay..."

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><p>"Three dates, that doesn't seem so bad."<p>

Elizaveta sighed, pouring a little more sugar into her coffee. "I'm only doing this so father will lay off of me for awhile."

Katyusha hummed, taking a sip of her tea.

"I mean, what kind of father _asks_ his daughter to date someone? Shouldn't he be greeting boys at the door in his underwear, holding a shotgun to their heads?"

She considered this, taking another slow sip of her tea. "Your father doesn't seem to be the kind of guy to walk around in his underwear."

Elizaveta sighed jadedly, slumping onto her friend's table. "That wasn't the point, Kat." She mumbled, resting her forehead against her forearm.

"Oh, cheer up, Eliza." Her friend's soft hand reached out and squeezed Elizaveta's hand reassuringly. "Three dates, and then you never have to see him again, if that's what you choose."

"That's definitely what I'm going to choose!" Elizaveta jumped up with a new fire, almost spilling her coffee. "There's no way I'm going to like some stick-in-the-mud businessman!"

Besides, she didn't really need any relationship in her life right now. She was establishing her individuality, taking control of her life. A man would only complicate things. In fact, she was planning on getting a job on her _own _merits, and moving out this year if she could. Being in a relationship really wasn't in the picture right now.

"Hallo?" A soft-spoken Russian voice brought Elizaveta out of her thoughts, "Sissy, what's wrong? I heard yelling..." A young blonde boy stood at the entrance of the kitchen, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Oh, Ivan!" Katyusha went to the young boy, bending down to his level and saying some things in Russian to him that Elizaveta couldn't understand. "Go back to bed, okay? I'll be there in a minute."

Ivan nodded, turning around and walking away, only sparing a glance at the other woman in his kitchen.

Katyusha returned to her seat with a sigh. Elizaveta took this as her cue to leave. "Thanks for the coffee, Kat. I really appreciate your advice." She stood up, and Katyusha followed. "Are you sure you want to go? I wish I had more to offer you, but times are kind of tough right now..."

Elizaveta smiled softly, knowing the trouble her friend went through. Her mother had abandoned the family, leaving her on her own to care for her two younger siblings. Yet, she never acted like she minded. She seemed to be happy to care for her family in whatever way she could, even if it meant only having the bare minimum of life's necessities. She was strong, without even trying to be.

"Thanks, Katyusha. I mean it." Elizaveta gave her friend a hug. "Go see Ivan, I'll escort myself out. I'll talk to you soon."

"Eliza, Будь что будет," Katyusha smiled, "Everything will work out. You will see."

Elizaveta returned the smile, "I sure hope so."

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><p>AN - Hello all. :) Gilbert appears! He cracks me up, haha.

Будь что будет: "Come what may," or "be what will be."

Reviews are greatly appreciated. ;)

-StormySea


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